News

How your pension is treated on death has changed and represents a significant long term planning opportunity for many.

We covered the subject previously here for those with money purchase or defined contribution pension schemes. Those with final salary or defined benefit schemes aren’t affected by these changes, but a recent Supreme Court ruling on rights for unmarried couples could pave the way for changes to be made.

The Armstrong Watson Restructuring, Recovery and Insolvency (RRI) team are celebrating a successful first year in Glasgow by moving to new premises to accommodate their growing team.

The service offered by the team has grown three times in the past year and, due to ever increasing demand for their specialist services, they are relocating their city centre office to 38 Queen Street.

This allows the firm to develop existing relationships within the City and support more individuals and businesses in what can often be challenging times.

As specialist advisors to the legal sector, we have helped many firms to start practising. In the last three editions, I covered the top considerations that individuals should take into account in starting a new law firm; the importance of planning; the business structure of the firm; and tax considerations. In this edition, I look into the application/recognition process with the SRA.

Our financial planning team is celebrating again this month with the promotion of Chartered Financial Planner; Peter Bouweraerts to Financial Planning Director and Amanda Heys to a Financial Planning Consultant.

Carlisle College has held their annual awards event, with a total of twenty eight awards presented throughout the evening, recognising the continuous effort and outstanding achievements of learners and the relationship that the College has had with employers over the last academic year.

As specialist advisors to the legal sector, we have helped many firms to start practising. In the last two editions, I covered the top considerations that individuals should take into account in starting a new law firm; the importance of planning; and the business structure of the firm. In this edition, I look into some of the tax considerations to take into account.

Tax is very much an extension of the business structure option and will in many cases be a deciding factor on that structure choice.

The PSC regime is coming up to being a year old but from 26th June 2017 there are significant changes to the way in which it will operate.

The EU 4th Money Laundering Directive is scheduled to take effect on 26th June 2017 and it imposes a requirement for the register to be adequate, accurate and current. To comply with the requirement companies will need to report changes to Companies House as they happen. Companies will still have to maintain their Register of People with Significant Control.

In previous editions of Inspired we have looked at retirement plans and whether individuals can actually afford to live on State Pension alone. An individual with the full entitlement to State Pension would currently receive £159.55 a week, which gives an annual income of just under £8,300. Although this may not provide sufficient income alone, it is still income that we should do our best to guarantee.

Armstrong Watson LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales, number OC415608. The registered office is 15 Victoria Place, Carlisle, CA1 1EW where a list of members is kept. Armstrong Watson LLP is regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales for a range of investment business activities. Unless otherwise indicated, either expressly or by the context, we use the word “partner” to describe a member of Armstrong Watson LLP or an employee of Armstrong Watson LLP in their capacity as such.

Armstrong Watson Audit Limited is registered to carry on audit work in the UK and Ireland by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Registered as a limited company in England and Wales, number 8800970. The registered office is 15 Victoria Place, Carlisle, CA1 1EW.